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Shraddha Kapoor commences shoot for Saina Nehwal biopic

After facing a lot of hurdles and countless delays, writer-director Amole Gupte’s much-awaited film Saina, a biopic on ace badminton player Saina Nehwal, finally hit the shooting floor today. The film stars Shraddha Kapoor in the titular role.

“I’m really excited about this film. Saina is the country’s sweetheart, a champion and a youth icon. It’s a challenging role for an actor as it requires an immense amount of transformation,” said Shraddha Kapoor, who is riding high on the success of her recent release Stree.


The makers started the shoot by filming interior scenes in a Mumbai studio. When asked if Saina and her family would be on the set, Shraddha replied, “I hope they are. It will be nice to have them there, along with their support.”

In his previous interviews, Amole had said that he found similarities in appearance between Saina and Shraddha. Does Shraddha think the same? “Well, I can relate to her journey. She has bounced back so many times and her journey has been a real rollercoaster,” she added.

Saina will release next year.

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Kerala actress assault case

Inside the Kerala actress assault case and the reckoning it triggered in Malayalam cinema

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The Kerala actress assault case explained: How it is changing industry culture in Malayalam cinema

Highlights:

  • February 2017: Actress abducted and sexually assaulted; case reported the next day.
  • Legal journey: Trial ran nearly nine years, with witnesses turning hostile and evidence disputes.
  • Verdict: Six accused convicted; actor Dileep acquitted of conspiracy in December 2025.
  • Industry impact: Led to WCC, Hema Committee report, and exposure of systemic harassment.
  • Aftermath: Protests, public backlash, and survivor’s statement questioning justice and equality.

You arrive in Kochi, and it feels like the sea air makes everything slightly sharper; faces in the city look purposeful, a film poster peels at the corner of a wall. In a city that has cradled a thriving film industry for decades, a single crime on the night of 17 February 2017 ruptured the ordinary: an abduction, a recorded sexual assault and a survivor who reported it the next day. What happened next is every woman’s unspoken nightmare, weaponised into brutal reality. It was a public unpeeling of an industry’s power structures, a slow-motion fight over evidence and testimony, and a national debate about how institutions protect (or fail) women.

For over eight years, her fight for justice became a mirror held up to an entire industry and a society. It was a journey from the dark confines of that car to the glaring lights of a courtroom, from being a silenced victim to becoming a defiant survivor whose voice sparked a revolution. This is not just the story of a crime. It is the story of what happens when one woman says, "Enough," and the tremors that follow.

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